Migration statistics reveal that people are moving in droves to Texas. Why? Jobs and no state income taxes. High earning New Yorkers and Californians can take home between 9% and 11% more of their income by moving to Texas. Every trip down I speak to at least one bitter New Yorker/Californian fed up with high taxes and cost of living.

That calculation doesn't make much sense to me because, unless you're able to telecommute or get a job at the same high coast-based salary, your income's going to be lower in Texas, too. So, at the very least, that's not the whole story.

And in a timely roundup on the topic from The Week, I discovered more writers addressing the issue:* Stacey Higginbotham at GigaOm says it's easier to migrate out of Silicon Valley (and therefore to places like Austin) because of the accessibility of broadband.* Matthew Yglesias at ThinkProgress points out that Texas doesn't have the lowest tax base in the nation -- and the 10 states with the lowest taxes (Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota, West Virginia, New Mexico, Tennessee, Nevada, Alabama, and Kentucky) don't exactly make "anyone's top ten list of economic and civic dynamism."* And then there's Brad Delong of The Week, with this gem: "And What Are Our Immigrants from Overseas, Chopped Liver?"

Interesting reading, all around. And this discussion certainly underscores the point: It's not a bad time to live in Texas. (Minus this heat, of course.)